Assemblée citoyenne poélitique

L’ARBRE QUI CACHE LA FORÊT (DÉI WËLL, DÉI LAFEN AM BËSCH) | Project from 11 May 2025 au 31 August 2025

L’Arbre qui Cache la Forêt* (déi Wëll, déi lafen am Bësch**) is an evolving poetic and political project that explores the role of the tree in our cities and forests, as a subject, a habitat, and an ecosystem. Rooted in both reality and imagination, this wide-ranging programme challenges our ways of thinking and seeks to reinvent our relationship with the living world, with the goal of collectively sparking ecological actions in Luxembourg.

This  project was conceptualized by Karine Paris, Magali Paulus, and Sophie Zuang from CELL (Citizens for Ecological Learning and Living), in collaboration with visual artist Justine Blau, as part of the LUGA***.

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A PO.E.LITICAL CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY
Jardin du Multilinguisme, Kirchberg
29.08.2025 – 30.08.2025

To mark the conclusion of the project L’Arbre qui Cache la Forêt* (déi Wëll, déi lafen am Bësch), a two-day po.e.litical**** citizens’ assembly will take place at the Jardin du Multilinguisme (Garden of the Multilingualism) in Kirchberg, home to European institutions and bank headquarters. This unique event features a rich programme of talks and participatory workshops, accompanied by an in-situ artistic installation that offer a space for reflection and exchange around trees and forests in our contemporary societies. Rooted between reality and imagination, this programme seeks to challenge our ways of thinking and to reinvent our relationship with the living world, in order to collectively give rise to ecological actions in Luxembourg.

Throughout our cities, trees silently cohabit with us, —they share the same living space, yet often remain invisible to many, unless they are deemed “remarkable”. A vital element, a source of oxygen and a thermal regulator, trees form nonetheless our habitat. It is thanks to them, to the photosynthesis of plants, that we can share a common breathing space, that we can exist.

But in our noisy urban environments, this is easy to forget. This ecological amnesia, however, can be reversed if we set our minds to it. That’s why we’re proposing a two-day po.e.litical*** Citizens’ Assembly around the tree, to consider it as a subject, as an individual on equal footing, with the same sensitivities and the same needs as us, human beings. But also, to approach it as a collective ‘we’, a colony, an ecosystem, a habitat, a network, a world, which can serve as a source of inspiration to open up other perspectives.

Whether in the city or in the forest, we wish to reflect on concrete actions that will lead to greater recognition, a deeper knowledge, a better comprehension and more a an equitable cohabitation with our allies, the trees. Because there will always be cohabitation between species. Through these two-day Assembly, we want to make visible what often escapes us: the deep connections that unite us to the living world and the state of interdependence in which we find ourselves.

This poetic and political event aims to change our perceptions, but also to create communities of interest and practice around urban environmental issues, involving all actors of a civil society: residents, professionals, environmentalists and activists.

The assembly will focus on a several areas:

• A time for shared expertise and knowledge (researchers, philosophers, artists, writers, storytellers, educators, environmentalists, activists, healers, civil society actors, etc.).
• A space centered around the arts, the senses and the imagination (storytelling, role-playing, singing, care, gastronomy, etc.)
• A time for exchange and convergence between the natural sciences, the humanities and social sciences, the arts, environmental and citizens’ movements
• An open space for democratic debate and a laboratory for collective experimentation (intergenerational, intercultural and multiperspectival)

* The tree that hides the forest
** In Luxembourgish ”wëll” means “to want” as well as ”wild or savage”, therefore the expression plays with this pun : when a child repeatedly says ”I want”, the parents replies with ”The savages, they run in the forest”
*** a temporary open-air exhibition taking place from 7 May to 18 October 2025 in Luxembourg | https://luga.lu/en/
**** po.e.lticial a convergence of poetical and political

For more information: https://www.cell.lu/blog/luga-2025-larbre-qui-cache-la-foret

Registrations: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/assemblee-citoyenne-poelitique-luga-registration-1490829895349?aff=oddtdtcreator

Arrival is preferred by tram at Kirchberg (European Parliament stop).

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PROGRAMME

Assembly | Day 1
Friday 29 August 2025 | 10:00 – 00:00

10:00 – 10:30
MILITANT CHOIR
Opening of the Assembly & Presentation duration 30 min

10:30 – 11:45
THE TREE AS AN ECOSYSTEM
Presentation, duration 1h15

Speaker: Karen Decker (forest guide)

Q&A Karine Paris (geographer)

What is a tree? The tree is an ecosystem in itself through its roots, trunk, branches, and leaves, housing a wide variety of species. It is both an individual and a plural entity, interacting in various ways with many forms of life. The session begins with a presentation of this complex being with whom we coexist and who allows us to exist.

Accompanied by a presentation of the sound piece SPRUCE-LISTENING by Nele Möller (sound artist and researcher)

11h45 – 13h00
A CITY OWNED BY TREES
Conversation, duration 1h15

Speakers: Mariette Schiltz  (visual artist and activist), Sergio Carvalho (urban architect), Thomas Brail (arborist and climber)

Moderator : Ikhlasse Zerouali (urban planner)

How do we cohabit with trees ? City dwellers are not always aware of the vast biodiversity present in their urban environments, even though it greatly contributes to their quality of life. In order to imagine a vibrant and livable city, trees must thrive and become our strongest allies. What role do trees play in our cities? How do we perceive them? We will explore the perspectives of thinkers, urban planners, artists, and architects who critically examine urban development and the relationship between cities and the living world.

13:00 – 14:00
LUNCH

14:00 – 15:00
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE LIVING
Role play, duration 1h00

Facilitators :  Aline Ouvrard (urban planner engineer), Justine Blau (visual artist)

In order to better understand the nature and functioning of an ecosystem, participants will take on the role of a species within an ecosystem in a role-playing game. This will allow them to better recognize, through experience and empathy, the interdependence of these species and their connection to their environment.

15:00 – 16:15
THE VALUE IN THE TREE
Conversation, duration 1h15

Speakers: François Baldassare (director and scriptwriter), Pascal Ferren (philosopher and urban planner)

Moderator: Magali Medinger (creative sustainability facilitator)

There are many relationships between humans and trees, whether through symbolic attachment to a particular individual tree, the services provided, or moments of collective cultural experiences. We wish to question what gives a tree its value in a capitalist society.

16:15 – 16:30
BREAK

16:30 – 17:45
THE STRUGGLE FOR TREES: PUTTING ECOFEMINIST IDEAS INTO ACTIONS
Presentations followed by a conversation, duration 1h15

Speakers: Dr. Asmae Ourkiya (eco-feminist researcher), Lise Duclaux (visual artist)

Moderator: Esmeralda Wirtz (activist)

Starting with the Chipko women’s movement, committed to protecting the trees of the Himalayas, Asmae Ourikya presents various feminist movements, both activist and artistic, that are mobilising for the living world. Ecofeminism is approached as a movement of struggle articulating a profound relationship between women and nature, conceived as a space for collective empowerment.

The research of visual artist Lise Duclaux combines art with science, philosophy with ecological politics. Starting from her observations of Ailanthus altissima, also known as the ‘tree of heaven’, a “subversive” Asian plant that is ‘invading’ cities around the world, she shares her questions about the relationship between contemporary Western societies and the living world.

The ensuing conversation invites us to move beyond traditional dichotomies by adopting a vision of life and the environment that is both pluralistic and inclusive, and rooted in a decolonial perspective.

17:45 – 18:00
CLOSING WORDS

18:00 – 20:00
DINNER

19:00 – 21:00
THE CARING TREE
Different stalls, activities and presentations, duration 2h00

Facilitators: Karen Decker (forest guide), Céline Depiesse (herbal tea maker), Natalia Costea (wild plant harvester & concocter), Helder Da Graça (yoga teacher & therapist)

An exploration around tree grounding meditation, herbal medicines, foraging, etc.

21:00 – 00:00
TREE DISCO
a festive programme
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Assembly | Day 2
Saturday 30 August 2025 | 09:00 – 22:00

09:00 – 09:30
MILITANT CHOIR
Opening of the Assembly, duration 30 min

09:30 – 10:45
THE FOREST, AS AN ECOSYSTEM – WORLD TREE
Presentation, duration 1:15

Speaker: Thomas Brail (arborist & climber)

Q&A Karine Paris (geographer)

This second day focuses on the collective tree—that is, the forest, made up not only of trees but also of other species that together contribute to the global regulation of CO₂. Whether primary, wild, or exploited for their resources, our forests have evolved. How do they function as ecosystems, and what place do human societies give them? We will explore the different possible forms of forests and how we can live with them.

Accompanied by a presentation of the sound piece THE OLD BEECH TREE by Sam Erpelding (sound artist and eco-acoustian).

10:45 – 12:00
THE FOREST, HERE
Dialogue, duration 1:15

Speaker: Marc Parriès (forester), Sven Wagner (biologist)

Moderator : Sophie Zuang (catalyser)

An integral part of the country’s identity, the relationship with the forest holds cultural significance in Luxembourg. Starting with an overview of the local forest landscape, we will explore, from a professional perspective, the ways in which forests are managed, bringing local and international expertise into dialogue. The discussion will be followed by a sound immersion featuring recordings collected in various Luxembourgish forests.

12:00 – 13:15
THE LEGAL PERSONALITY OF A FOREST
Presentations followed by a discussion, duration 1:15

Speakers: Gaël Defins (lawyer), Ute Blohm (scientist)

Moderator: Magali Paulus (ethnologist)

Who speaks on behalf of the forest? In the context of protection and the possibility of coexistence, should the forest have a voice and be granted legal personhood in order to defend itself—or to be defended? What can the law do, and how can it serve as a transformative tool to change the way we view this common good?

13:15 – 14:15
LUNCH

14:15 – 19:00
GOD SAVE THE TREES
Presentations and workshops, duration 4:45

14h15 – 16h30
FORESTS FOR CITIZENS | Part 1
Presentations , duration 2:15

Walk towards the nearby woodland around the Museum of Modern Art (MUDAM) to meet with different speakers involved in citizen projects. A series of parallel presentations are running alongside (selection of 3).

1) THE STRUGGLING TREE with Thomas Brail (arborist and climber)
2) OBSERVATION: TREES AND FORESTS AND THEIR STATE OF HEALTH with Karen Decker (forest guide)
3) WHICH GOVERNANCE FOR A FOREST MANAGED BY CITIZENS? with Nicola Franka (economist)
4) ECOLOGICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT / CITIZEN FUNDING – an alternative approach to forestry with Julien Bosseler (environmental technician)
5) OBSERVING A TREE – THE ROLE OF POLLINATORS with Aline Ouvrard (urban planner engineer)   

6) REAPPROPRIATION OF THE COMMONS – THE PEPE VERDE COMMUNITY GARDEN in Milan, between social, artistic and political Utopia,  with Mariette Schiltz (artist and activist)
16h30 – 19h00
ACTION PLANS | Part 2
4 plans of actions, participatory workshops with long-term effects, duration 2:30

ACTION 1: Citizens defence movements – toolbox with Thomas Brail (arborist & climber)
ACTION 2: Citizens’ group on the purchase of a common forest with Nicolas Franka (economist)
ACTION 3: The legal dimension of protection of forests with Gaël Defins (legal expert)
ACTION 4: Forest Linx, a citizen science project run by the University of Luxembourg to explore connections between people and forests with    Sophie Zuang & Ariane König (catalysers & researchers)

19:00 – 20:30
DINNER

20 :30 – 21:30
ARBORESCENCES
Converging tales by Luisa Bevilacqua, duration 1:00

Closure of the Citizens’ Assembly and the L’arbre qui cache la forêt project with a moment around tales and the power of narrative, followed by an informal discussion with the audience.

21:30 – 22:00
CLOSING WORDS & CELEBRATION
Moment of convergence